As I listened to the proceedings of Parliament on Tuesday, December 13, 2018, I was appalled at the unanimous decision made by the Opposition to not support the extension of the state of public emergency across the three parishes in which it is currently active.

Logically, I cannot fathom why this position was taken, especially since no alternative plan has been put on the table.

Sixteen (16) months ago St James was a never-ending nightmare; it was the norm to listen and read most reports that up to five or more people had been slaughtered daily.

By all indications, many of the law-abiding citizens living in these volatile areas appreciate the state of public emergency. It allowed them to return to some semblance of normalcy. They can finally go about most of their day-to-day living feeling relatively safe. So, Opposition I am sorry to break it to you, but, yes, we need the state of public emergency at this current moment.

I will accept without hesitation that, like many other strategies, there are shortcomings as crime is increasing in other areas. However, with logical thinking, like many of my fellow Jamaicans, the extension of the state of public emergency must be supported until a better strategy is put before us. Statistics released by the Jamaica Constabulary Force a few days ago clearly indicates that murders are down. In St James alone, murder rates are down by 72 per cent; St Catherine North, 26.8 per cent; and Kingston Central, 44.4 per cent.

Why would any right-minded Jamaican not continue to support this strategy? Opposition, please accept that this is no ordinary situation and acknowledge the realities of the short-term strategy that must be used to curtail the nightmare until a long-term strategy is created and put in place.